Monaco E-Prix: Nissan ‘Delighted’ After Upgrades Perform ‘Positively’

Nissan Formula E Team enjoyed their best weekend of the 2022/23 ABB FIA Formula E World Championship at the Monaco E-Prix, with rookie Sacha Fenestraz having secured the Japanese manufacturer’s best result of the season.

After a few woeful rounds, the manufacturer’s upgrades for the Circuit de Monaco clearly worked a treat, with three Nissan powertrains having made the Semi-Final stage of the duels. Both Nissan factory drivers made the Semi-Finals as did Jake Hughes, who drives for Nissan’s customer outfit the NEOM McLaren Formula E Team. Fenestraz and Norman Nato actually battled against one another in the Semi-Final, with the rookie having come out on top.

Fenestraz’s time in the Semi-Final was actually a new Formula E lap record in Monaco, going nicely with the lap record he set in Cape Town. Fenestraz ultimately met Hughes in the Final, where the Frenchman saw his time good enough for pole deleted, following an overuse of power. Regardless, Nissan locked-out the top three spots on the grid, something which no other powertrain supplier has achieved this season.

Fenestraz and Nato remained in second and third behind Hughes for the opening few laps of the race; however, all three lost a few places as the title contenders worked their way to the front. Fenestraz did manage to get himself past Hughes during the race for fourth, where he ended up finishing. Nato on the other hand, had to settle for eighteenth, after sustaining damage in the closing laps of the race whilst running in the points.

Despite Nato’s misfortune, Fenestraz’s result was still the team’s highest of the season and their first points finish since Cape Town, something which saw them go from tenth to seventh in the Constructors’ Championship.

Team Principal Tommaso Volpe was “delighted” by the team’s Monaco performance and the fact that the upgrades were a success, with their qualifying result in particular having been “really encouraging” for the manufacturer as they approach the remaining seven rounds of the season.

“We brought more car updates for this round and we’re delighted to see them impact positively on our pace. To have both cars in the top-three in qualifying is amazing and really encouraging for us going forwards.

“Sacha had a great race, he kept with the frontrunners throughout and brought home some very valuable points. Norman was unfortunate with the strategy and then the contact, but we can still be pleased with our performance overall. We’ll look to continue improving our race pace, and it’s great to see the team’s hunger for success.”